UFC 106 Post-Mortem: Ortiz’s Cutting Class, Koscheck’s Politics, More

If you believe Tito Ortiz’s
post-fight confessional Saturday, it has become virtually
impossible to defeat him without Ortiz starting the job himself.
Cracked orbital, dislodged vertebrae, a washout training camp: one
half-expected to see him wheeled out to the post-fight press
conference in an iron lung.

In addition to obliterating his credibility, Ortiz’s admissions may
have left some fans feeling downright defrauded: his main event
with Forrest
Griffin hinged on his claim that his back -- surgically
repaired after years of problems -- was no longer an issue and he
was in fine fighting form. (It was, it still is, and he was
not.)

“I’ve been training pretty hard -- six days a week, eight hours a
day -- and my body is at 100% with no more back problems,” he told
AskMen.com this month, one of dozens of interviews repeating the
same thing. In the fight, he looked rusty, tentative, and unable to
counter Griffin’s gangling-frame attack. Some cutting elbows --
which caused Griffin to bleed impressively -- may have kept the
fight from becoming a complete embarrassment for him.

There is now talk of Griffin and Ortiz coaching an eleventh season
of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which sounds like something that should
play in rotation in the seventh circle of hell. Aside from a strong
first round by Ortiz in 2006 and some brief moments of positional
control, Griffin has proved conclusively that he can out-scramble
and out-strike this particular opponent. Enough already.

Next for Ortiz: A lesson explaining
that post-fight bellyaching -- no matter how true -- only leaves
you choking on sour grapes; maybe a fight with Rich
Franklin.

The Mike Tyson Amateur Physician
Award:Tito Ortiz, for
declaring his training for Forrest
Griffin was marred by a “fractured skull” and a “THX 1138
protruding vertebrae.” Or something.

The Mediator Award: Griffin, for
attempting to use some of his crowd stroke by interrupting Ortiz’s
oral gravedigging routine and telling fans that fighters get hurt
training.

The Invitation-to-Re-Engineer Award:
Mixed martial arts gloves, for allowing no less than four eye pokes
during Saturday’s event. Virgin Atlantic is prepping sub-orbital
civilian space flights by 2012 and we can’t find a glove that
reduces the chances of corneal trauma?

The Broken-Record Award:Phil Baroni,
for swearing yet again that he’d figured out his training woes and
will use his opponent for target practice. You know the words by
now: sing along next time.

Ortiz looked flat and slow against Forrest
Griffin, twelve years of ring wear and recurring spinal issues
crumbling his offense into a fading carbon copy of what it once
was. Naturally, he’ll try to convince fans that his next fight will
be better, that he’s a new (or old) Ortiz, and that his performance
will be well worth their $44.95. My advice: Inquire about refund
terms before purchasing.

Fresh off an impressive victory over Anthony
Johnson, Koscheck used his camera and microphone time to
criticize Dan Hardy’s
pending title shot. (And in saying Hardy “never fought anybody,” he
may have bummed out training partner Mike Swick.)
For a company with few options for Georges
St. Pierre, Koscheck attempting to discredit Hardy may not have
been preferable to some out-of-breath sponsor plugs.

He could’ve used a win against Swick last June, but
Ben
Saunders has exceeded expectations by showing some absolutely
devastating Thai-clinch work against Brandon
Wolff and a notoriously durable Marcus
Davis. (Saunders understands how to use a long, rangy frame for
maximum effect, a body/style marriage that not every fighter picks
up on as well as he should.) He could be growing into a real
problem at 170 -- assuming the Thai plum isn’t the only trick he’s
worked out.

What’s motivating some of the UFC’s recent
signing choices?

Despite being bounced from the promotion years ago,
Frank
Trigg, Phil Baroni,
Caol Uno
and Dennis
Hallman have all been re-signed this year. Baroni and Trigg
were obliterated: Uno collected a draw in his fight Saturday with
Fabricio
Camoes. If the idea is that each fight could conceivably see
someone take a step closer to a title bid, none of these athletes
are facing that direction; if the idea is to dull the shine on
competing rosters by scooping up and then abusing talent, it’s
working out nicely.

Etc.
A week after Manchester hosted over 16,000 fans, only 10,529 were
seated in the Mandalay Bay Events Center for the event, calling
into question Ortiz’s drawing power after an extended
absence…Josh
Koscheck and Anthony
Johnson split a $140,000 Fight of the Night bonus salary; some
believe that should’ve been signed over to Jacob
Volkmann and Paulo
Thiago. Koschek/Johnson, while sloppier thanks to the repeated
fouling, was more competitive and had more energy. Koscheck also
collected $70,000 for Submission of the Night…Judge Lester Griffin
took some post-fight criticism by UFC President Dana White
following his 30-27 scorecard for Forrest
Griffin. According to
CompuStrike, Griffin landed twice as many strikes (100) as
Ortiz in the bout. “Don’t leave it to the judges” is a nicely macho
concept, but it ignores how incredibly tough and durable athletes
at a high level can be. I don’t think MMA judges have done anything
as heinous as boxing’s fiction writers ringside, but that day seems
to be coming closer.